[spiritual_emergency]

Hello everyone,
I've been working on a new blog. One that's devoted solely to Jungian insights and psychotherapy. I share the work of the Jungians because it's the approach that helped me most in the aftermath of my own experience. However, I also know that Jungian analysts are difficult to find and even if you can find one in your location, you might not be able to afford psychotherapy. For that reason, when I find a free resource that's good, I like to share it.

One of the best new resources I've found have been some free podcasts by a Jungian analyst named John Betts. His first few podcasts might be especially helpful to people who have undergone psychosis because they may help you understand what happened to you on a psychological level.

Here are some of the notes I put together after listening to podcast #2.

EPISODE 2 : JUNG’S MODEL OF THE PSYCHE - PART 1
In this episode I cover the fundamental aspects of the psyche and review the core structures associated with each such aspect. Central to the model is an understanding of the topographical notion of the psyche, comprised of three strata, being the conscious, the personal unconscious, and the collective unconscious. The structures within each of these strata are the ego, complexes and archetypes respectively. A review is made of what the five core functions of the ego are and how these functions relate to complexes. Complexes are clusters of feeling-toned associations around a common theme. Archetypes are explained, and simply defined as symbol-producing structures in the collective unconscious. Terms such as psyche, the unconscious, the personal unconscious, the collective unconscious are defined. Critical references are recommended for the student of Analytical Psychology, both at a beginner and intermediate level.

© John Betts

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Notes: This podcast is particularly pertinent to those who have experienced psychosis in terms of understanding what the ego is and how it functions within the psyche. The image shown below is not exactly as suggested in the podcast but it's the closest model I could find.

• • • 
      Image Source: Jungian Models of the Psyche

• Psyche: Psyche is the totality of all psychic processes, conscious as well as unconscious plus the body. Consciousness + Unconsciousness + Body = Psyche.
  
  Ego: Without the ego we could not be conscious. The ego is described by Betts as having five functions in Jungian psychology.
  1. Stability of Personality: General personality remains reasonably stable over time.
  2. Stability of Identity: Stability of self-identity over time.
  3. Cognition: The ego helps us to process information, problem-solve and store memories.
  4. Executive functioning: Our ability to deal with the everyday demands of the world via sequential thinking.
  5. Reality testing: Ability to obey and respect basic laws of reality, such as physical laws.
  
  Personal Unconscious: The personal unconscious is unique to you and contains complexes. Complexes are clusters of feeling-toned associations around a central theme, i.e., money complex, work complex, marriage complex. Complexes can be triggered by a specific thought or event in our environment and then come up from our personal unconscious and cause us to behave in ways that are not typical of our personality. Complexes impact the ego's functioning.
  
  Collective Unconscious: This is a deeply unconscious layer that is common to all humankind. We create symbols every day and are surrounded by a symbol laden world -- these symbolic images are also known as archetypes. An archetype is a symbol producing structure within the psyche. We experience archetypes symbolically, through the images they create. Archetypes can only be "seen" in the behaviors and responses they produce
  
  The Body: The body serves to express the workings of the psyche through a process called somatization; that is, to make physical what is psychological. For example, if we are nervous about meeting someone new we might experience a pounding heart and sweating palms. Somatization translates our psychological thoughts and emotions into physical responses. Somatization also works to make psychological what is physical. For example, people who have been in car accidents may later have intrusive thoughts and flashbacks. When they recall the trauma of the accident they may re-experience the anxiety or pain they felt in their body at that time, even though the event is long past.
  
  Review: The psyche is comprised of three parts: Consciousness, Personal Unconsciousness and the Collective Unconsciousness (+ the body). Each layer of the psyche contains an inner structure. Consciousness contains the ego; the personal unconscious contains complexes, and; the collective unconsciousness contains archetypes. All three layers exist within the body.

See also: Recovering Body & Soul from PTSD

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[spiritual_emergency]

What does all of the above mean...?

First of all, it means that within a Jungian model, you are composed of different parts. All of those parts together are called the psyche (sigh-key). Psyche is a Greek word that originally meant soul. Nowadays, many people refer to the psyche as the mind but some prefer to continue to think of their psyche as their soul.

One of the most important parts of the psyche is your ego. The ego takes a real battering in psychosis so when you're attempting to put yourself back together using any variety of tools at your disposal, it can be helpful to see how you're supposed to come back together once more.

Ego: Without the ego we could not be conscious. The ego is described by Betts as having five functions in Jungian psychology.
1. Stability of Personality: General personality remains reasonably stable over time.
2. Stability of Identity: Stability of self-identity over time.
3. Cognition: The ego helps us to process information, problem-solve and store memories.
4. Executive functioning: Our ability to deal with the everyday demands of the world via sequential thinking.
5. Reality testing: Ability to obey and respect basic laws of reality, such as physical laws.

This is what you need to rebuild: stability of personality, stability of (self) identity, your ability to use your cognitive abilities to problem solve, deal with the world and apply reality testing.

How do you do that?

Most of us develop our sense of ego as a result of the relationships we have and the things we do. So in a nutshell, it's important to have relationships with other healthy people and to do things that bring meaning and purpose to our lives such as work, volunteering or going to school.

However we also have to be able to use our brains and some people have a more difficult time with this than others because this experience affects different people in different ways.

Many people find medication to be helpful for improving their ability to use their cognitive functions. But many other people find it to be unhelpful. If you are functioning well without medication, maybe you'll manage just fine without any. If you are not functioning well, maybe you'll benefit from a trial period of medication. Likewise, if you find medication is getting in the way of your cognitive function, maybe you'll be better off to switch meds, reduce your meds, or to come off them entirely. Unless there is an urgent medical crisis, it's nearly always best to withdraw from psychiatric medication very slowly. Doing so abruptly can lead to a withdrawal-induced psychosis. If you are going to reduce or withdraw from medication you should seek a doctor's care to help you do so.

Hopefully, something above might help some of you. Those of you who might want to listen to more of the podcasts or learn more about Jungian therapy can find more information on my blog: A Jungian Approach to Psychosis. There is no cost to you for reading the notes/articles or listening to the podcasts.

~ Namaste

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